Falling Over You
by Kosaka
Summary: When Kagome fell through the Bone Eater's Well, she never thought it could happen to anyone else, but when it does, things go a little crazy. Inu/Kag, Mir/San, Sess/OC. (Yes, I know, I have a Sess bias..I mean...duh, really.) Complete.
1. Chapter One: Through the Well

Disclaimer: No own, No sue.  
  
Summary: A fic in five parts, Inu/Kag, Mir/San, Sess/OC. When Kagome fell through the Bone Eater's Well, she never thought it would happen to anyone else, but when it does, things go a little crazy.  
  
Falling Over You  
  
By: Banshee Puppet  
  
Chapter One: Through the Well  
  
"Thanks for helping me study Ayame," Kagome said as the older girl rubbed her tired eyes and stretched a bit. They'd been at it for hours. "Don't worry about it Higurashi. I know what it's like to miss a lot of school because you're sick. It's really no big deal. Besides, Li asked me to do it as a favor to him, since he's friends with your little brother, and this makes us even. No more dishes, YAWN, no more cleaning his room, no more driving him places. Besides, like I said, I don't mind. I'm fluent in English anyway, so it's not like it's difficult for me or anything." Ayame was two years older than Kagome, tall and thin with short black hair and brown eyes so pale with golden flecks that gave them a bronzed look. She had naturally long eyelashes that most girls would kill for, but mostly, they just seemed to piss her off. She took off her calico reading glasses and put them back into their small leather case. "That's right. Sota said you know a lot of languages," Kagome said. Ayame nodded, ticking them off on her fingers as she listed them, "Japanese, English, Spanish, and a bit of French and Mandarin Chinese," she said. "How do you remember it all?" Kagome asked in awe. "Well, I've traveled a lot. You pick stuff up when you've got to," Ayame told her absently. "Besides, a lot of it comes from the music lessons. And I used to go to a lot of gymnastics competitions before I hurt my right arm in that car accident three years ago." She talked about that accident like it was nothing, but Kagome remembered Sota and everyone talking about it. She almost died. She'd bashed up her arm pretty badly, but she was lucky that was all she'd done. The other person in the car at the time, Li, a distant cousin, one of those relationships that Kagome could never quite figure out, had her to thank for getting out of it hardly without a scratch. Drunk driver, the papers had said, and they never caught the guy. All in all, things seemed to have worked out, and Ayame had started playing her guitar with the band sporadically about a year ago; also learning how to write with her left hand. The writing was sloppy, but mostly legible. But she hadn't been able to go back to her gymnastics, and the doctors didn't think she ever would. You pick stuff up when you've got to. Yeah, Kagome figured, what choice has she had? "That it for today?" Ayame asked. "Yeah, I'll walk you out." "Hey, Higurashi, I was wondering," Ayame said as she put her things back into her pack. "Would it be okay if I took a picture of the bone eater's well? I'm doing a project on "places of worship" for my history class, and visual aides are a must, I've got a few of the shrine I visited in Kyoto, and some synagogues and cathedrals in France and Spain that have been lying around the house forever, but." "Oh, sure, I don't see why not," Kagome said. Ayame had helped her out so much, and what harm could a picture or two do? It wasn't as if Ayame would get sucked into the well like she had, and Inuyasha wasn't likely to come try and fetch her until tomorrow at least. "Really? Arigato!" Ayame said happily, having to practically empty her bag again to dig her camera out. Kagome laughed. If nothing else, it was worth it to see that big grin back on Ayame's face. For having lost her parents so young, Kuma Ayame seemed to be one of the happiest people Kagome knew. They'd never really associated before, but Kagome wondered if maybe they could get together more often. She liked Ayame, and the older girl didn't really have many friends. Who am I kidding? What would someone like Ayame want to hang out with a kid like me for? Kagome thought, but then she wondered if that wasn't what everyone thought. Ayame was "cool", she was the only girl in the high school who wore a boy's uniform, something she'd thrown a fit to be able to do pretty early on. There was a rumor that it was because she had a bad scar on her shin from the accident, but nobody knew for sure, and she didn't try to hide the one on her arm, so that didn't make much sense. Kagome just figured it was because she didn't want to show everybody her panties when she was out in the courtyard playing basketball with her cousin and his friends. Well, whatever, it didn't matter anyway. Besides, making new friends was hardly something Kagome needed to do now. It was just too difficult to come up with excuses when she went through the well, and her grandfather's "illnesses" were not what she would have come up with.not by a long shot.  
  
"It's right in here," Kagome said as she held the lantern up. "Are you sure you'll get a good picture in here? It's dark this late in the day. You can come back tomorrow morning when it's brighter out." "No, no big deal. It's a new camera and it should be fine. Besides, I don't want to hassle you." It's no hassle, Kagome was about to say before she remembered Inuyasha. Maybe now would be better. Who knows what'd happen if she ran into Inuyasha. My cover would be blown, that's for sure. Ayame put on the flash and took a picture from the doorway. "I want a closer one, it's okay?" she asked. Kagome nodded. She was awfully polite. So Ayame moved into the shrine and took a few shots of the bone eater's well up close, leaning over slightly to get a good angle of the opening of the dry well, she was about to snap the photo when she tripped on something. "Ah!" she yelped as she fell over the lip and into the well! "meow?" "Buyo!" Kagome scolded as she ran towards the well with a distinctively sinking feeling. "Ayame, are you alright!" she called. Shining the lanterns into the depths of the well, she realized.Ayame wasn't there.  
  
"Ow," Ayame whined as she brushed herself off, realizing that, strangely, nothing hurt. She looked up out of the well as she called, "I'm fine, Higu..ra..shi? Stars? Isn't the well inside the shrine?" She shook off the weird feeling, and seeing the shadow of some vines inside the well, she squinted. They appeared to go all the way up. She'd just climb out, save Kagome the trouble of having to rescue her. She grabbed one and gave it a gentle pull. It should hold. Reaching the top, she surveyed her surroundings.her forested surroundings. Cocking an eyebrow, she said, "We're not in Kansas anymore, that's for damn sure. But where the hell am I?" She sat on the edge of the well for a few minutes before standing. At least I didn't hurt my camera. It was really expensive, she thought. "Higurashi? HIGURASHI!?" she called as she walked away from the well, trying to find the other girl, not expecting much, since she didn't even seem to be in Tokyo anymore, feeling rather perplexed and much like the subject of a bad manga. "This is so not funny," Ayame complained as she looked up and spotted the God tree. "Hrm? The God Tree, so I'm still at the shrine, but.maybe I fell and hit my head and am now unconscious. Everything will be back to normal when I wake up, right? Sure, that makes sense, might as well enjoy the ride while I'm here then, right?" Ayame shrugged, rather confident that she was going to wake up any minute now..any minute now. "Who're you!" "Eep!" Ayame jumped as a white haired boy jumped down out of a tree right in front of her. "Uh. Hi," she said at first, noting the ears and claws. Dreaming about dog demons? That's it Ayame, you're switching to decaf. "My name's Ayame. Kuma Ayame." Inuyasha started sniffing. There was a girl, and she was wearing strange clothing with some sort of silver contraption in one hand, and she was coming from the bone eater's well, and it wasn't Kagome. Human though, that much he could tell. And confused. "Um. Gomen. I, uh.I'm a bit lost. I'm looking for someone. A girl about so high with black hair. She answers to the name Kagome Higurashi, have you seen her?" "Kagome?!?" now it was Inuyasha's turn to be extremely confused. "You know Kagome?" "Hai. I was helping her study, and well, I fell into the well at her shrine." "You fell into the bone eater's well!?!" Inuyasha hollered. "Uh.yeah. You don't have to say it so loud," Ayame said as she took a step back from Inuyasha who was getting rather close with his.yelling. She brought a finger up and stuck it in her ear, shaking her head to try and stop the ringing. "Inuyasha, what's your prob.who're you?" Shippo asked as he bounded over. "Now a fox demon kit," Ayame mumbled. "Well, why not, this is a weird dream anyway," she blinked a few times. "Ayame, Kuma," she answered after a few moments. "She fell through the well. She knows Kagome," Inuyasha said sarcastically. "Decaf. Definitely Decaf," Ayame mumbled to herself as she noted the dog demon's ears swivel and him start sniffing the air, and the fox kit doing the same. "My name's Shippo!" the fox kit said. "Kagome!" Inuyasha said, seeming to light up a bit, but also still rather irate. "Eep!" Ayame squealed as he grabbed her wrist and started to drag him after her rather quickly, she was running to keep up. "Uh. N-nice to meet you Shippo!" she called back. 


	2. Chapter Two: Kuma and the Crow Demon

Chapter Two: Kuma and the Crow Demon  
  
"Ayame! AYAME!!" Kagome called once she'd climbed out of the well. She couldn't imagine how the girl had ended up on this side of the well, but if she wasn't on that side, well, where else could she be?" Kagome lifted both backpacks onto her shoulders. Even if she hadn't been worried, she hoped to find Ayame soon if for no other reason than to give her back her bag. The extra weight was a pain to carry. "KAGOME!" That was definitely Inuyasha's voice. "Inuyasha!" Kagome called. "Have you seen anyone weird." she called back before she saw him, knowing he'd be able to hear her. "You mean like her?!?" Inuyasha said as he entered the clearing, yanking Ayame's arm a little too much for her liking. She kicked him in the shin, "hey! That hurt, you bastard!" she snapped angrily as she yanked her arm back and started rubbing her elbow. He had to grab that arm, didn't he? Wait a minute. Pain? In a dream. "Ayame!" Kagome said. "I was really worried that." Ayame cocked her head at Kagome with a rather confused expression on her face. She wanted to say, "you're in my dream too" or "can I wake up now" but none of that seemed to be what perplexed her most. For some reason, she had another obsession at the moment. "You have my backpack," she said as she noticed the red canvas bag on Kagome's shoulder. "Oh, um, yeah. Here," Kagome said as she handed it over. "Thanks," Ayame said, hefting the bag over one shoulder. "She says she fell through the well," Inuyasha stated agitably. "Uh, yeah. She did," Kagome blushed. She didn't know how it had happened either. "Do you want to expl." "I DON'T KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED! IT JUST DID!" Kagome snapped. "Ow. Loud," Ayame said, rubbing the ringing out of her ear again as she squinted. "Oh, sorry Ayame," Kagome said. "I.guess you've met Inuyasha." "Not formally, but yeah, pretty much. He's a lunatic you know," Ayame said. "And just to remind myself once again.when I wake up.decaf. For the rest of my natural life." "For HEAVENS SAKE WOMAN! IT'S NOT A..mmffht," Ayame covered Inuyasha's mouth, looking like a major migraine was coming on. "Yelling again. No more yelling. It's making my head ring," Ayame said. "It's not a dream," Kagome said softly. "Wha.?" "It's not a dream. You're wide awake, and in feudal Japan." "Time travel.of course. Why didn't I think of that?" Ayame said sarcastically. All the same, it did feel too real to be a dream. Up to and including the throbbing in her right elbow. But all of a sudden, Ayame's hands dropped to her sides and a serious expression crossed her face. "Ayame?" Kagome asked. "Higurashi, shh," she said. "What?" Ayame had that old sinking feeling, the feeling she got before something really bad was about to happen. But where was it coming from? Suddenly, she looked up toward the western skies. That was too big to be just any bird. "Get down!" she said suddenly, shoving Kagome to the ground as she dove, right before the bird swooped low over them. Inuyasha dodged just in time to keep from being impaled by the golden-beaked demon. "Crow demon!" he said. "And a big one! How'd you know, wench?" "'scuse you?" Ayame said. "What did you just call me?" "How..how did you know?" Kagome asked as she sat up, trying to prevent another fight. "I just.knew. I could hear it on the wind." "Hear it on the." "Not now. It's coming back." Inuyasha got up and pulled the tetsusaiga. "It must be after the jewel shards," Kagome said. "The what?" "I'll explain later. Inuyasha will take care of the demon." "By himself? Like hell! It's too fast!" Ayame said in shock as she stood up. The bird swooped for her and she flipped out of the way, panicked, yet graceful. It came for her again. Shippo realized it before anyone else. "It's after Ayame!" he squealed. The crow demon couldn't kill Ayame, he was just starting to like her. "Fine. Then it's my problem!" Ayame said, jaw set in determination as she dodged left, right, back flipped up and over a tree branch to avoid being.well, eaten, mauled, or whatever else a crow demon might do to her, as she tried to figure out how she was going to kill the thing. She's really fast, Inuyasha noticed. But he also knew, unarmed, she had little to no chance of killing a demon. "Don't be a moron!" he said. "Moron? I'm not the one trying to play hero! Get the hell out of here. I'm ungrateful anyway," Ayame said as she dove yet again, rolling up into a stance and running towards the forest. It's too big to get in there. It'll give me a minute to think. But next thing she knew she was flipping out of the way of what appeared to be an extremely large boomerang which cut the demon bird in half. Problem solved. "Uh..thanks?" Ayame said as she dusted herself off, noting the woman who fastened the weapon over her shoulder, and a man who appeared to be some sort of monk standing beside her. Ayame was ready to admit it, she was extremely confused, and her arm hurt like hell. She could hardly move it and only just noticed that she was now cradling it against her body. "Are you alright?" the monk asked. "Yeah, fine." "But, your arm." "It's nothing," she said as Kagome, Inuyasha and Shippo arrived. "IDIOT!" Inuyasha snapped. "What the hell do you care? It's not YOUR problem," Ayame snapped back. "If you wanna be a hero so badly, save someone who needs it." "Um, you didn't need it?" Sango asked rather skeptically. "I would've thought of something eventually," Ayame said. "He was pretty slow anyhow, and too big to get into the forest; that would've bought me some time." Inuyasha had thought she had turned tail when he saw her head for the trees. She was buying time? No one was really certain what to make of her, but Kagome was the next to speak. "Sango, Miroku, this is my friend Kuma Ayame. Ayame, Sango and Miroku.and Kilala." "Nice to meet you," Ayame said, bowing her head slightly. "Ayame fell through the well," Shippo explained. Ah, the surprised looks again. "Kuma is fine. Now, does somebody want to tell me what the hell is going on?" she huffed. "Higurashi?" "You can call me Kagome, it's alright." "Oh. Uh. Gomen.Kagome." "Why don't we explain on the way back to the village. Maybe Kaede can explain why you fell through the well." "Fine." "Your arm is." "It'll be okay. I shouldn't have pushed it, but I was trying to keep from dying.and it didn't help that the puppy over there yanked on it really hard before." "PUPPY! Watch who you're calling a puppy, bitch!" Inuyasha snapped. "He's very rude, you know," Kuma said rather blatantly. Miroku chuckled. "You.get used to it," Kagome said with a slight blush that earned a raised eyebrow from her new friend.  
  
"Well, why not? My life's never been normal. Why should it start now?" Kuma chuckled and shook her head as Kagome finished filling in the details of the story. "I came through the well because of the Shikon no Tama. But I can't figure out why you have, I can't sense any shards in you," Kagome said. Kuma shrugged. "Well, maybe this Kaede person you told me about will know. She seems to be the expert on weirdness from all your stories," she said. "Expert on weirdness, hm? Kagome, what have you been telling your friend?" Kaede asked as she walked out of the hut. Shippo had run ahead and already told Kaede what had happened. "Let me guess, you would be Kaede?" Kuma asked. It would just be typical for her to hear that. "Yes, I would be Kaede." "An honor to meet you," Kuma said with a slight bow of her head. The first thing that Kaede noticed was the way the girl cradled her arm. "Come inside, let me look at that." "Oh, it's fine. It's an old wound," Kuma tried to explain. "Just let her look at it Kuma. She may be able to do something for it," Kagome said. "Ptah. The doctors in our time can't, what makes you think.oh.gomen.open mouth, insert foot," Kuma said with a slight, uncomfortable laugh, realizing she just insulted the woman unintentionally. "Just let her look at it. It would make me feel better," Kagome said. "Fine."  
  
"Unless you want me to rip your shirt, you might want to take it off," Kaede said. "Hai. Sure," Kuma said as she began with the buttons. Inuyasha blushed and turned around, and Sango slapped Miroku for watching hopefully. "It's alright, Inuyasha, I have a tank underneath," Kuma told him. "A wha..?" "Gomen. Another shirt, sleeveless," she explained. "Ah." Miroku didn't look so happy about that, but Inuyasha turned back around and sat down. The tank covered the bare necessities, just a thin gray cloth over the upper part of her body, but Inuyasha figured, that just seemed to be how clothes were in Kagome's era, Kagome's skirt being a prime example of that. Inuyasha shook his head, I did not just think about the length of Kagome's skirt! I don't think of Kagome in that way. "This is called a tank?" Miroku asked of the garment as Kaede examined the wound. This is a very old wound. She shouldn't be able to use the arm at all like this. I can do something for the swelling around the elbow at least. "Hai. A tank top, or a guinea tee," Kuma answered simply. That's a bad scar, Sango thought, remembering the scar on her own back. "How did that happen?" she asked. "Car accident," and realizing they probably wouldn't have any idea what a car was, she tried to find a better way to explain. "That is.I was.hmm?" she muses, brow furrowed as she tries to find the best way to say it. "A drunken man caused a bit of a problem for us when I was transporting my cousin to a basketball game.a sports game." "He harmed you?" Miroku asked. "Unintentionally. His mode of transportation hit ours. We call that transportation a car. It's a large metal object that can cause a lot of damage if not used properly. I was lucky." "Ah." "There's not much I can do. But that will help the swelling. Be more careful with it in the future," Kaede said as she wrapped a cloth around the wound. "Tell that to Inuyasha. He's the one who yanked on it." "Hmph." "It's alright. I know you didn't know, but don't do it again. Next time I'll have to hurt you back. It's only fair," Kuma said. Inuyasha had decided, since she was a friend of Kagome's, and Kagome could make him sit, it was safer to ignore the girl. "Do you have any idea why Kuma fell through the well, Kaede?" Kagome asked. But before Kaede could answer, Kuma stood up. There's that feeling again. "Kuma?" "We're not alone," Kuma said, moving towards the doorway. "I know you're there. Come out." She squinted at the trees, trying to place it. Who are you? Why are you following us? Kuma wondered.  
  
"Shall we attack now? My lord?" Jaken asked. Sesshomaru's eyes widened. A human, but.she was looking right at him. Did she see him, or was it chance? Either way, that girl knew he was there. He had a feeling about her; he had seen how easily she had evaded the crow demon. A human should not be able to do such things. "No. We're leaving," Sesshomaru said. "L-Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken asked. "Do not question me Jaken. I said we're leaving." Sesshomaru turned and headed back the way he'd come, and after a moment, Jaken darted off after him. Lord Sesshomaru left when he saw that girl earlier too. Why does she bother him so much? Rin took one last look at the girl before hearing Sesshomaru say to her quietly, "Come Rin." She's pretty, Rin thought as she ran off after the white-haired demon.  
  
Kagome sensed a jewel shard as Kuma stood in the doorway. It was faint, but there, and then as the girl turned back into the room, Kagome couldn't sense it anymore. "They're gone. Who's Sesshomaru?" Kuma asked blankly. Everyone in the room seemed to tense. "How do you know that name?" Inuyasha barked. Kuma tapped her ear. "I have a freakish sense of hearing," she said. "I heard someone say it." "A human should not have better hearing than Inuyasha," Kaede observed. "Shouldn't, maybe, but does, apparently," Kuma said testily as she pulled her outer shirt back on. "If you spend your whole life worrying about what should and shouldn't be, you won't get anything accomplished." Again, Kagome sensed the shard. Where's it coming from? Kagome's eyes widened as she saw it, glowing in Kuma's chest, in her heart. She can sense it surrounded by blood, see it move slightly with the pulsing rhythm of her heartbeat. How could they remove it without killing her friend? "I think I just figured out why you fell through the well," Kagome said softly. "Hm?" Kuma asked as she stopped buttoning her top to give Kagome her undivided attention. "There's a shard of the Shikon no Tama in your chest.inside your heart." Kuma looked down, startled, putting her hand over the glowing pink light that only Kagome could see. "But.how is that possible? How could a shard of the jewel have found it's way all the way to our time, and aside from that, how did it end up inside of me? Kagome, are you certain?" Kagome nodded weakly. "So, I'll take it out!" Inuyasha declared as he moved towards Kuma. "Inuyasha, SIT!" Kagome said quickly. THUD! "Bitch, what was that for?" "You CAN'T take it out. If you take it out, Kuma will die. It's inside her heart, that's why I can't really sense it. It's down deep. To get to it, you'd have to.you'd have to." the tears welled up in Kagome's eyes. Kuma put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's alright Kagome. Please don't be sad. I don't want it anyway, but, I don't want to die either, so.we'll just have to think of something." "Kuma." "At least now we know why that crow demon wanted me so much, ne?" Kagome nodded. "I guess I'll just stick around for a while then. No big deal. It's not as if anyone will miss me if I'm gone anyway." What? "That's not true!" Kagome began. "Of course it is. Don't be naïve. I'm not normal. My family is pretty much all dead anyway, and I don't have any friends. Maybe Li will miss me a little, but only because he won't have anyone to give him rides places, and he'll get over that quickly. They'll miss having me play for them, win awards for them, sing for them, do chores for them, but me, no, nobody'll even know I'm gone. Nobody will notice." "Kuma." "Don't be sad. I'm not. It's no big deal. When you've got mixed blood like I do, you just learn to accept certain things about yourself and the world." "Like what?" Inuyasha asked as he sat up. It's not that he cared.it was just.he could relate. She's a half-blood, just like me. "Like as far as the rest of the world is concerned, you don't matter, and never will." Damn straight. "But that doesn't mean that they're right." Doesn't mean that they're right? Inuyasha hadn't thought of that, although, in retrospect, that had always been his approach to Sesshomaru. "Anyway, so what? Why do we have to talk about such depressing things?" Kuma said with a smile. "I just want to do something fun." Talk about a mood swing, Sango thought. But Kuma Ayame had been smiling the whole time, as if she was glad that she didn't make sense in her world. That nobody would miss her. So maybe it wasn't much of a mood swing at all. She did seem like a very happy person, or at least someone to whom not many things could effect. Even just now, when she found out about the shard in herself, that expression didn't crack. Miroku hadn't failed to notice that either. Either she's too stupid to care, or she's really good at hiding her true emotions, he figured. He had yet to figure out which. Perhaps when she became less adept at ignoring his presence he would ask her.that and a few of the usual things.  
  
"Sing another song!" Shippo cheered. It was true that Kuma had a beautiful voice, even Inuyasha found he had a difficult time denying it, but who would have thought the little kitsune would be this infatuated with music from the future. "Ano, Shippo. It's very late," Kuma said. She was tired, who wouldn't be, she'd been running from demons all day.again. Kuma didn't love being "bait" but at least she felt as if she was contributing. Without any weapons, there wasn't much else she could do(other than hunt and cook, which she seemed to be pretty good at). And she was fast, good at dodging, that helped. Although, sometimes she forgot to watch her right arm, it never got as bad as it had been the first day anymore. "I'm sorry. You probably don't want to sing anymore," Shippo frowned. "It's not that so much. I like singing, but there aren't very many songs I know that sound right without an instrument in the background, and I left my guitar at home. Sleep for now. I'll sing again tomorrow if you still want me to." "Okay."  
  
That matter settled, she leaned her head back against the tree she'd been sitting beside and closed her eyes. Unlike Kagome, Kuma didn't seem to have much need for sleeping bags and pillows, and her backpack had almost nothing useful in it. Which basically meant, as far as Inuyasha and Shippo were concerned, she didn't have any ramen or candy. What she did have was a novel, a deck of playing cards, a bottle of water, sunglasses, a change of clothing (sweatpants and a t-shirt), her camera, pocketknife, glasses, a pen and tiny notebook, a small flashlight, a set of keys that obviously didn't unlock anything in this era, and a music book, but nothing to play any music on. All in all, her bag was pretty empty in comparison to Kagome's, reasonably so, since she hadn't counted on falling into the past, or deciding to stick around for that matter.  
  
She was quiet about getting up in the middle of the night when everyone was finally asleep and sneaking off, but Inuyasha didn't miss it. Where's that girl going now? he wondered as his ear tweaked and he popped an eye open. Standing up, he decided to follow her.as quietly as possible. It'd be just like her to hear a demon coming and go right off for it. And Kagome'd kill me if I let her friend get eaten. What a moron, doesn't she realize that as long as she's got a shard of the jewel, she's in danger? Huh?  
  
Kuma shoved her bangs from her eyes. My hair is growing very quickly lately, she thought as she kneeled down by the lake that they'd passed on the way to camp and removed her outer shirt. They hadn't bathed here because the water was too cold, but she knew the cold water would be good for her arm, so she cupped some and started massaging the scar on her elbow. It really hurt very badly. She knew she downplayed it, but it wouldn't help any for worrying, so why bother? Inuyasha noticed the frown she wore, the darker expression on her face. She was sad. He'd never seen this side of her before. She always pretended to be so happy, but he knew it was an act; after all, he had an act of his own. He pretended he didn't care about anyone or anything, and sometimes, he even convinced himself of it, but it wasn't true, not really.  
  
He was worried about the girl, not just because she was Kagome's friend, though that didn't hurt, but also because in the week that he'd known her, he'd gotten to realizing that she would put her life in danger repeatedly and didn't ask for or expect any help from anyone. It was just the type of person she was, and he had a feeling it was going to get her killed. She needed to be protected, but protection was the last thing she wanted. He remembered the first day he met her. If you want to be a hero, save somebody who needs it. I'm ungrateful anyway. That's what she had said. She wasn't anything like Kagome; it didn't take a genius to figure that out.but the two girls complimented each other in a way that seemed hard to imagine. And Inuyasha wasn't complaining. Since Kuma knew lots of information, she could help Kagome study without Kagome having to go home all of the time, and it was nice to have Kagome around for longer. And Kagome always asked Kuma to sing while they traveled, which made Kuma happy and made the trip go by more quickly. It just made the whole situation more comfortable, and he liked the way Kagome would smile and sway slightly as Kuma sung songs while she used her "pocket-knife" to skin rabbits or do other assorted things as she helped with dinner. Once she had even brought back food for them before Inuyasha had headed off to hunt. She had the most triumphant look on her face, it was hard not to smile a little, but he managed it. It was strange to admit, but really, of all those in the group, Kuma was the one who was most like him, the one it was easiest to understand. So now, to see her looking so sad. He felt like he was spying, but really, he just didn't want to see her get hurt. .or to see a demon get a hold of that shard she had in her chest. How were they supposed to get that thing out anyway. Well, he supposed they had time to think about it. There were lots more shards to collect, and the one in her didn't seem to harm her or make her want to harm others or anything, so it could stay where it was for a while. Shit!  
  
Kuma stood up and looked over towards the trees. He was there again. Who are you? Why are you following me? "I know you're there. Why are you following me?" she said, and Inuyasha cringed. Busted. But right when he was about to reveal himself, he caught wind of another.youkai.Sesshomaru??? Sure enough, his brother emerged and approached Kuma. Inuyasha suppressed a growl deep in his throat. If she heard him, he'd never be forgiven, he knew that much. But Kuma was his friend, so if his brother even thought about touching her. For the time being, he just listened. "Why have you been following me?" she said steadily. "I wonder if it's the shikon shard that gives you such good hearing," Sesshomaru said as he looked at her with his usual lack of emotion. Her expression, Inuyasha realized, was very similar to his brother's, but her eyes were much sadder. "Why do you care?" "I don't.per say.but the possibilities..interest me," Sesshomaru said steadily. "My friends dislike you. Makes me think maybe they have a reason," Kuma informed him frankly. "They do," he answered and turned to leave. But Kuma grabbed his wrist, and the startled expression on Sesshomaru's face made Inuyasha's guilt about spying all but disappear. "If you hurt my friends, I'll kill you," Kuma said. "I don't care who you are. Just thought you should know." "Don't get in my way. I'd hate to see you die needlessly," he told her without turning. But why? Why would I hate to see her die needlessly? Sesshomaru wondered. The truth was, he didn't know what it was about her that intrigued him, why he was following her. Why, until she'd called him out, he had been content to watch her massage her injured arm. Kuma let go. "Well. We know where we stand then," she said with the same matter-of-factness. "Yes. It would appear so," he answered and walked away. They would kill each other, if they had to, but they didn't like the idea for reasons that neither of them could understand.  
  
She listened to him leaving. The studied look on her face told Inuyasha that. What it didn't tell him was how she felt about it. When he saw her put on her long shirt again, he turned to leave. If she caught him here now, he was a dead man. Something very personal had just passed, and he wasn't meant to see it, but he had. "Inuyasha," she said quietly. Shit! "Uh. I.just came to see that you didn't get yourself killed," he said abruptly, inserting all due cockiness into his voice. "You're lying," she stated. "That man is related to you in some way, isn't he?" "How'd you..?" Could she smell it the way a demon would? "You look alike. Not the same, but.similar." Oh. Inuyasha nodded. "He's my brother." "Then you should know. He's been following us all week. I heard him first when we met up with the crow demon. Again outside Kaede's. And at other times." "At night. When you leave camp." "So you've noticed. Can't say I'm surprised," Kuma said. "You're right though. I could very easily get myself killed the way I am now. So I've decided.I'm going to find a way to get myself some sort of weapon. I don't have any money from this time, so I can't buy one. I'll just have to think of something." This had surprised him a bit, he had to admit. She was braver than he thought she ought to be, and as a result, he usually passed it off as reckless stupidity. "So please. From now on, don't worry about me. Just.protect Kagome." "K-Kagome?" "She's the one you love, right?" Gulp. Do I.love Kagome? But even as he asked himself the question, he knew that it was true, and had no idea how he'd missed it for so long. "All I really want is to get used to this world, this time. Because, I've made my decision." There was something resolute in her tone. "Your.decision?" "Yes. I've decided: it doesn't matter if I live or die. I won't go through the Bone Eater's Well again." Nobody'll miss me if I'm gone, Inuyasha remembered. So why not stay gone, she thought.  
  
well, that's chapter two down! I'm uploading things quickly today.uh, I guess b/c I have a lot of stuff done right now and figure, what the heck? No Sequel to "Not that He Cared" yet, but ideas are in formation and I've decided that even though it was supposed to be a one shot, I'm gonna write a companion fic for it. But I think it's gonna be angsty. Okay, nuff babbling. Next chapter coming.well, pretty soon, probably put it up tonight or tomorrow, since it's done anyway. 


	3. Chapter Three: The moonlight and her eye...

Chapter Three: the moonlight and her eyes  
  
When he returned, Rin climbed up into his lap and with a tiny yawn, fell back to sleep. He rested his hand on her head, using his claws to gently work a knot out of the little girl's hair while she slept. "Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken asked. "What is it Jaken?" he returned. "W-why have we not attacked Inuyasha for the tetsusaiga yet?" "Do you question me, Jaken?" "N-no Lord. N-not at all!" "See that it doesn't happen again," Sesshomaru said. That's one way to avoid a question, he mused to himself as he looked down again at Rin's sleeping face. The little girl had opened something within him, within his heart, and this strange woman, something about her tugged at it now. I am a demon! I should not have such feelings for any human, especially not one who travels with my worthless younger brother. Feelings.I do have some strange feelings towards her though, don't I? That woman. He remembers watching her with the crow demon, telling his brother that she didn't want his help, the determined set to her jaw. That reckless, stupid woman. He knew she was the very thing that stopped him from claiming his right, the tetsusaiga. But could he harm her to take it from his brother? He didn't know. He didn't want to have to find out. I'll find a way to draw her away from the others. He cursed himself for the weakness. She was a human. What was it about her that drew his attention? The fact of her uncanny hearing, that she always knew when he was watching her? That she had a shard of the shikon jewel. Ridiculous. He knew it, and as much as he told others and himself that it wasn't true, it was her that drew his attention, her reckless courage, her desperate strength, the woman that she was, and the woman that he knew she could be. And he had hated his father for that which was within his own heart now. The irony did not elude him. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and went to sleep, allowing himself, somewhat bitterly, sweet dreams of the sad eyes that were set within her ever- smiling face, a façade she only dropped when she was alone, or threatening his life.  
  
"Why should I be worried? She always said she'd leave. I never thought it was a lie. It's just like her to not give us any notice though," Li told Kagome. She had gone to tell them that Kuma was fine and not to worry, but nobody seemed surprised that she'd disappeared like that. "You know where she is, don't you?" Li asked as he showed Kagome to the room the other girl had once inhabited. It was bare, a bed with a thin blanket, a small cd-player, a guitar, a dresser and hamper, some music books in a corner. It wasn't much bigger than a walk-in closet. No windows even. "She asked me to pick up a few things for her," Kagome lied. "Sure, take whatever she wants. We'll throw the rest in storage I guess," he said absently. "You're just going to empty out her room?" "Why not? Now that she's gone, she won't be coming back. I liked having her around," he said as he tossed himself up onto the dresser, "but that was selfish. She was never happy here." Kagome put the guitar into it's case and Li tossed her a small bag of picks from beside him. "What did she hate about this place so much?" Kagome wondered aloud to herself not realizing Li had heard her. "What was there to like? She never met her parents, couldn't even remember their names when they were repeated to her multiple times. She lives with the equivalent of perfect strangers. She was just never really here. And then there were all the doctors. I'd be fed up if I had that many doctors telling me that I'm messed up too. They say she can't remember her parents because of the trauma of the accident, but the accident I was in with her was pretty traumatic too, and she remembers me fine. I don't buy it." Kagome closed the case and looked at the music books, wondering if she should bring any of them. "She doesn't use those anymore." "Oh." "She didn't really ask you to pick anything up, did she Kagome?" "N-not really. But I know that she'll want her guitar." Li nodded. "Bring a sweatshirt for her too. She's never prepared for bad weather. And a pair of sneakers. But don't tell her I suggested it. She doesn't like carrying anything extra with her." "Thank you."  
  
As Kuma sat in the tavern singing songs for the patrons to earn some money so that she could buy things she might need, like less conspicuous clothing, and a weapon of some variety, Miroku watched her thoughtfully. "It isn't right," he said finally. "She should be with Kagome in her own time, not here trying to earn money." "Let her do what she wants," Inuyasha huffed. She hadn't said anything about Sesshomaru since that night, but he had a feeling that just meant that they were still being followed and it made him pretty tense, especially with the new moon approaching. "I can't blame her for wanting to protect herself, but this may be going overboard," Sango agreed. Shippo, on the other hand, couldn't seem to care less, as long as Kuma kept singing, and sat near her feet as she did so. "Kaede?" Miroku asked at seeing the old woman enter the tavern, she rarely came here unless something was up, and what was she carrying. "For Kuma," Kaede explained as she put the wrapped package on the table. "What is it?" Inuyasha asked as he lifted it and sniffed the package, to see if it was edible, he decided it most definitely was not. "She wanted to better blend in and asked about procurement of garments. These are they." "She's really serious about staying then," Miroku noted. "Do you think she'll be able to fit in in this time, Kaede?" "I cannot say for certain, but.Kagome, she is not." "She'll fit in just fine," Inuyasha said irritably. It was obvious to him. He had seen Kagome's world; that's why he understood that someone like Kuma could never fit in there. He saw too much of himself in her. "I'm outta here," he said before heading off to the well. He knew Kagome was due back in a few hours, and if she was, by some freak chance, early, he wanted to be there to complain about her being gone so long. Sure, he knew that didn't make much sense, but heck, he was in love; he gave up on rational behavior a long time ago.  
  
"Well, how do I look?" Kuma said with a grin as she spun around in her new clothing. Kaede had had the common sense to give her more battle ready attire than a simple kimono. And so now she stood in a deep and bright blue ensemble similar to Inuyasha's but also decidedly more feminine, the pants wide-legged and unbound at the ankle, the top sleeveless and hanging slightly outward at the shoulder, with a loose sleeved outer jacket of a near-white shade of baby blue, and a cloth belt made from the same as the long jacket. The slightly dropped jaw of Miroku's expression seemed to show that he at least liked it, though she wasn't sure whether to take that as a good or a bad thing coming from him. "Wow! You look awesome!" Shippo commented, bounding into her arms. "Awesome?" Kuma asked. "What has Kagome been teaching you?" she laughed. "It does suit you well, Kuma. And your hair is growing quickly too, so even your style there won't give you away much longer," Sango told her. "Yeah, it's driving me crazy though," Kuma answered as she flipped a bit from her eyes and sat down.on Miroku's hand. She casually moved it away from her posterior and said, "what did I say about touching?" "Oh, uh, sorry, I just couldn't resist," he commented and for his efforts received a good whack upside the head from the demon hunter who sat beside him. "Unh, the things I do for love," Miroku groaned as he rubbed away the pain. "You mean the things you do for your hormones, don't you?" Kuma stated casually. "My.what?" Miroku asked, confused. "I think she just said you're too horny for your own good," Shippo noted. "Ah, a quick study!" Kuma grinned as she tweaked Shippo's ear briefly. "Let's get some food. I'm hungry."  
  
Kagome's jaw dropped when she saw Kuma in clothing of the era. Her hair had gotten pretty long too, and the bottom layers she now had bound back into a tiny ponytail, though in the front the long bangs almost hid her eyes completely. "Hey Kagome!" she waved, hardly seeming to notice that Shippo was sitting on her head and waving himself, "Kagome!" he called happily, bounding at her. "You're back! We missed you!" "I missed you too Shippo," she returns with a smile. "I brought some of your things, Kuma." "Eeee!!!" Kuma squealed at seeing the black case that was slung over Inuyasha's shoulder. "My guitar!" she squealed happily as she nearly tackled him to collect it. "Ow! Hey! Watchit!" Inuyasha started complaining, falling on his ass on the end and throwing a handful of grass at her. "Bitch!" "You can do more songs now!" Shippo hopped up and down happily after jumping out of Kagome's arms. "Got that right kit!" Kuma beamed.  
  
It's good to see her so happy, Sesshomaru thought, unable to stop a small smile from creeping across his lips briefly. He shook his head agitably. She was distracting him from his purpose far too much, but how to get her out of the way. Sesshomaru thought about this with all due gravity.and then his mind wandered to how good she looked in her blue kimono and jacket. He shook his head. I do not have time to waste thinking about a human woman.even that one. Rin came up beside him and tugged on his sleeve. Hm? She held up a small daisy for him. "A flower?" he asked, taking it. "What is this for, Rin?" She tugged on his sleeve again and pointed at Kuma. "For the pretty girl," she said quietly, barely audibly. Am I that obvious? Then there's only one thing to do, he decided. I'll kidnap her. She'll hate me for it, surely, but I can't deny that I want her if even Rin noticed, and I can't very well have her in the way when I try to claim the tetsusaiga.  
  
But things went wrong before Sesshomaru could even begin to carry out his plans. He followed them another night, and when he awoke in the morning, Rin wasn't there. "Jaken. Where's Rin?" "She went to go pick flowers Lord Sesshomaru. You know how she is about those things." She went to go pick more flowers for me to give to Kuma, more likely, he noted mentally. Well, it'll be alright if I stay here for a little longer. It's early, my brother's camp probably isn't even awake yet.  
  
"I'm just going to go bathe, Inuyasha. Don't be a peeping tom, you jerk!" Kuma told him as he stopped her to see where she was going. This had gotten old fast and she was beginning to wish she had Kagome's "sit" powers. He turned red at the mention of her bath. "Oh, uh, well.hurry up! I don't want to be here all morning!" he said turning away from her and crossing his arms over his chest. Closest thing to an "I'm sorry" yet. We're making progress. "Do us both a favor and go bother Kagome," Kuma said. "We all know you want to jump each others bones, so why don't you just admit it and get it over with." Inuyasha turned beet red. She could be as crude as Miroku sometimes, honestly. All the same, he stormed off back to camp. He wasn't about to watch Kuma bathe, but he didn't want Kagome to think he was watching Kuma bathe, so it was safer if he stayed close to her. Granted, he didn't mind staying close to her.pretty much at all, but.aw, hell, never mind. Like Kuma always said, she could take care of herself. Well, today, Inuyasha decided, he'd let her.  
  
She'd just taken off her jacket when she heard a scream. Sounds like a little kid, Kuma thought as she ran off in the direction of the trouble, heedless of her own safety, as usual, diving over the girl to keep her from getting impaled by a large-taloned foot. Another crow demon. What is it about these guys?!? "You okay?"  
  
Rin looked up to see the bronze-eyes of the girl who Sesshomaru seemed so fond of looking down at her. She'd been so scared, and now Kuma had come and saved her. She sniffled slightly, and wrapping her arms tightly around the young woman's neck, buried her head into her shoulder. "Hey, don't cry. You're fine," Kuma said, trying to calm the girl as she made another dive away from the crow. It was bad enough trying to figure out how to fight it without weapons. But she couldn't dodge as quickly with the extra weight clinging to her chest. She covered the girl and got a nice scratch up the back for the efforts. Gotta think of something. Something.Damnit! She disentangled Rin from her and told the girl, "Don't be stupid! Run!" as she threw a melon-sized rock at the bird, just barely clipping it's wing, and tearing at her elbow once again. Needless to say, the bird didn't like that one bit. This is bad. Very bad. The crow had forgotten about the little girl entirely, but now it had a new target, the Shikon shard in Kuma's chest. "Unh!"  
  
"Hurry!" Rin protested as Sesshomaru tried to figure out what had the little girl so panicked. "Rin, what is this about?" he asked as the little girl effectively dragged him by his sleeve to where she had left Kuma and the crow demon. Sesshomaru's expression fell. This was bad. There was a lot of blood, and though she'd managed to badly damage one of the crow's wings, Kuma didn't appear to be moving other than weak slapping motions which appeared to be an attempt at keeping the crow away from the bloody hole in her chest. There's a shikon shard in your chest.in your heart, Sesshomaru recalled his brother's woman saying. If you take it out, Kuma will die. It's after the shard! Kuma! He leapt in the air and slashed the bird in two effortlessly before moving to her side. He could see her hand balled in a tight fist, and the hole in her chest told him what he needed to know. It wasn't inside of her anymore. "You're badly injured," he said instead of what he really knew and meant. You're dying. "I won't be in your way anymore," she said weakly. "I guess, I'm not really strong enough to fight demons after all, but at least, he didn't get it. I.have to give this to Kagome," she said holding up the bloody fist. "Nobody else can have it, so don't even think of." "Shut up you fool," he said, but what he was really thinking was, I'll use the tensaiga to save her. And he lifted her in his arms and carried her away from the scene with Rin not far behind.  
  
"Kuma! KUMA!" by noon the whole group was searching for the missing member of the group. Inuyasha went almost immediately to the lake, where he found the pale blue jacket and some tracks that headed elsewhere. He followed her scent, which was a few hours old already, and stopped dead at the scent of blood, Kuma's blood. Shippo was not far behind him and at the scent bolted into the clearing, "KUMA!!!" he sniffled. He saw the dead crow demon, and lots of blood, but Kuma was nowhere to be seen. Inuyasha kept sniffing, there were other scents here. Another human, and something familiar. His fists balled in his rage. "Sesshomaru."  
  
Kuma gasped awake, her eyes shooting open and taking a moment to focus. At first all she could make out was the white hair, and confused, she asked, "Inuyasha?" and then as her eyes focused and the figure turned his face to her she got even more confused. "Sesshomaru?!?" She forced herself up into a sitting position. "Don't push yourself. You almost died," he said matter-of-factly. Almost died, died, under the circumstances what was the difference, really. She looked around the room. Indoors somewhere, and dark. There was a window to the north. Night had fallen. "Why did you help me?" she demanded. "Would you have rather I didn't?" "Don't avoid the question," she said hoarsely. He stood from the chair where he had been sitting beside the window, and moved toward the bed, sitting on the edge of it beside her. "You saved my ward. Consider this a thank you," he told her. Not exactly a flat out lie, he figured, but also only part of the reason. Sesshomaru handed her a glass of water. She looked skeptical at first, but he could have killed her many times over now, and hadn't. It didn't mean she trusted him, just that.she didn't not trust him. She took a cautious sip and he couldn't help but smile a little when she wasn't looking. "The little girl?" she asked finally. "Yes. Rin." "She's okay then?" "She's fine. She's been bothering me to see you since this morning. But I can make her wait if you're still tired." "No, it's fine." "I'll get her," he stood and moved towards the door, about to open it when Kuma remembered something. "Sesshomaru?" "Yes?" "The shard?" "In the pouch around your neck. Look down," he said. "I shall return shortly." Kuma did look down, and sure enough, there it was. She even opened the tiny black pouch to be certain. It was, along with the money she had earned in the tavern. She had half expected him to take it, to claim it as his own. After all, he was the enemy.wasn't he? But then why had he saved her? Because she'd tried to save the girl? It made sense, but not enough. It explained why she was alive, not why she still had her jewel shard, or why she was in a comfortable bed drinking a glass of water and listening to the crickets outside the window as she looked at the stars through the lace canopy.  
  
The little girl ran into the room ahead of Sesshomaru, disrupting Kuma's thoughts, and was about to plow into her when Sesshomaru warned her, "be gentle Rin, she's just woken up." This caused Rin to stop abruptly in front of her, and hold a tiny red flower up for her to take. "Arigato," Kuma said, accepting the slightly damaged bloom. "But I think it suits you much better," she said with a gentle smile as she put the bloom behind the little girl's ear. Rin grinned widely, giving her a full display of her missing baby teeth, and those that were still there. Kuma patted the girl's head gently. "Isn't it late for you to be up, kitten?" Kuma asked. Kitten? Sesshomaru wondered, but figured it must be a term of endearment that humans used. Kuma's eyes widened as the girl climbed up into the bed with her and curled up, falling asleep almost immediately after some adjusting. She looked at Sesshomaru questioningly. He had to clear his throat before speaking to keep from smiling. He hated to admit it, but it was a little cute. I must be going soft. "Well, you see.she usually sleeps in here, with me." "Oh!" Kuma started suddenly. "This is your room, I, didn't realize." "It's fine. This is my castle. It has many rooms, one no better than another. You should rest." She hadn't realized that Sesshomaru would have a castle, though he did have a regal bearing, she noted on second thought. At seeing the confusion in her expression, he took the empty glass from her hand and said quietly. "Since my father's death, the western lands have been in my charge." "Oh." "Now go to sleep. I swear to you that as long as you are in my castle, no harm will come to you." He pushed her shoulder softly to get her to lie down again, and that in addition to the fact that she actually was extremely tired was all it took to get her to lay back once again. She let her head loll to the side as she watched him go for the door once again, but grabbed his sleeve lightly to stop him. The gesture tugged at his heart again as he tried not to let any expression cross his eyes and betray his thoughts as he kneeled down beside the bed. "What is it?" he asked. "Why?" She tried to form more than that, tried to get out, why are you being so nice to me? Why are you helping me? But she was so tired. Only when he gave her a perplexed look of his own did she manage to say anything further. "Why are you being so nice? You're the enemy.aren't you?" "It's because." he began to say but stopped. Could he tell her? Should he? He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't not. She was asking. She wanted to know. And he could see the way she was patiently waiting for an answer, just looking at him-curious, confused, and a little sleepy. "It's because I." he stopped again. What am I doing? I can't afford to be distracted like this.and if I tell her now. He shook his head and looked away from her. "It's because you no?" she asked confused. Maybe it means something different in this time, she thought, genuinely perplexed. No, I have to be at least as brave as her. If not, then I don't deserve her anyway.Deserve her? I want her, love her, but deserve her.when did I decide that? he wondered as he looked back up into her eyes again realizing now that he had an honest hope that, somehow, in some circumstance that was beyond both of them, he could build a life with this strong and simple young woman. My heart hurts. Must be because of that damn crow, Kuma noticed as Sesshomaru looked into her eyes again. "It's because I'm." he tried again, and getting fed up with his hopeless attempt at speech, he gently pushed some hair from her eyes and pressed his lips against hers, his eyes closed so he couldn't see what he was certain would be the horrified reaction that she would most certainly wear. After all, he was a demon, and she was.a goddess, the woman he loved, the human woman he loved. She didn't kiss back, she was honestly too stunned, and he saw that in her expression when he pulled away, not horrified, just.extremely surprised. "I am in love with you, Kuma," he said as he stood, letting a claw gently trace her jaw line, because he was rather certain that when she wasn't so exhausted she would never allow it, completely certain that this was his only chance. "But you are also correct-I am the enemy."  
  
"Inuyasha, why are we stopping, I thought you said this was the way, that you could smell your brother's trail.?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha stopped abruptly and decided to camp right before sunset. He'd had them running ragged for three days to prevent the trail from getting cold, and now all of a sudden, he wanted to stop? "Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong. Has the trail gone cold?" He looked tenser than usual, more tense. "New moon," he mumbled. "What?" she asked, not having made out the words. "IT'S THE FUCKING NEW MOON! ALRIGHT!" he snapped angrily. "MY HUMAN SENSESE CAN'T PICK UP THE TRAIL AND IF WE GO ANY FURTHER, I'LL LOSE IT FOR SURE!" "..Inuyasha," Kagome whispered. "I'm sorry, we didn't realize. Everyone's been so worried about Kuma, we must have forgotten. We'll camp here tonight. I'm sure the trail will still be here in the morning. Besides, Kuma can take care of herself." "If she could take care of herself, she'd be here!" he barked, but already his hair was turning color, and he was fading into his human form. It's all my fault! If I'd hung around, checked up on her, made sure she was alright.this wouldn't have happened. Now my brother's going to use her to get the tetsusaiga. Why else would he care if she was alive or dead. This is all my fault! "Inuyasha, calm down. You said it yourself. If your brother took her, than he must want her alive for some reason," Miroku said. The only time Inuyasha had been more upset than this is when Kagome had been kidnapped. "Calm Down?! CALM DOWN! HOW CAN I CALM DOWN!?! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!" Kagome jumped slightly. "It's not your fault at all!" she hollered at him. "Kuma is the one who went off on her own! Kuma is the one who decided to fight that crow demon for whatever reason! She's a big girl and she makes her own decisions, so stop being a baby! The only reason this has anything to do with you is because obviously Sesshomaru knows that if he kidnaps her, we'll come after him and he'll have another shot at the tetsusaiga. She made her own decision, Inuyasha. You can't blame yourself for that." "I should have protected her. She's not as strong as she thinks she is." "She's stronger than you give her credit for," Sango said. "She fought that crow demon all by herself without any weapons and she's still alive. Have a little more faith. She might just surprise you."  
  
"You shouldn't be up yet," Sesshomaru said with all due surprise when he found Kuma sitting in the garden with Rin, many colored flowers strewn across her lap as the little girl ran around collecting them and giggling all the while. "I'm okay. If I stay in bed any longer, it'll only take me longer to get back to the shape I was in. I'm taking it easy. All the same, I'll have to leave soon. I'm sure everyone must be worried about me, disappearing like that. You still have my old clothing, right? This kimono is nice for sitting around in a castle, but not very practical for traveling," she said. "I've gotten rid of them, but replacements have been made. They couldn't get all the blood out, but you won't even notice the difference," Sesshomaru told her as he sat beside her. She was going to leave him soon. He knew it was coming, but he still hated it. As long as she was with him, he could forget everything: his brother, the tetsusaiga. Nothing mattered but the moonlight and her eyes. She nodded vaguely. "That will be fine then. Arigato." He sat down beside her. "Rin will be sad to see you go," he told her. "So will I." Softly, he placed his hand over hers in the grass. She pulled away. "Gomen. Sesshomaru. I. We're still enemies, as long as that's true, I can't." "No, Kuma. I'm the one who should be sorry. It was selfish of me to bring you here. I intended to bring you here and have you out of the way while I claimed my father's sword, but even tetsusaiga means nothing to me, as long as you're here. If you asked me to, I'd give it up, you know, let him keep it.but only if you asked." She thought about this for a moment. It would make life much easier for everyone, if she could just say the words. If she could just force through her lips, Sesshomaru, please stop your quest for the tetsusaiga. It would be so easy, but she couldn't. "I want to ask it, but I can't." He hadn't expected that answer from her, and after a pause she continued. "Trying to claim that sword has kept you going for so long. I can see it in your eyes. Without it, even if I stayed, you'd crack and break eventually. Until you find something else to give your life meaning, I want you to keep trying to claim the tetsusaiga. I don't want you to get it, per say, but.I want you to have something to live for, and that can't be me, at least.not right now, and maybe not for a very long time. I don't know that the time can ever be right. All I really know right now is that I want to be with you, but I can't stay." "I don't understand. If you want to be with me then, why.?" "I'm still learning about this world, learning how to be a certain kind of strong. I'm not ready yet to be a woman who can love you in the right kind of way." "The right kind of way?" What did she mean? There was more than one way to love? He didn't understand her, and it hurt to know that. "The forever kind of way," she explained. "." "." "In that case," he said finally. "I'll wait. And while I'm waiting, I'll become the sort of man who you can love in the right sort of way."  
  
"You're really worried about her, aren't you Inuyasha," Kagome whispered. Everyone else was asleep already, but the truth is, Kagome was worried too, really worried. "Sesshomaru has been following her," he stated frankly. "Not us, not the tetsusaiga. Her. What does he want with her, Kagome?" She had been surprised by this, but she tried to explain it away. After all, worrying wouldn't bring her back. Finding her would. "Maybe it's nothing. You follow me sometimes for no real reason." "That's because I.er, I mean, that's what I'm worried about." That's because I love you, he thought. And he was certain, there was no way his brother would ever love anybody, but he might, as Kuma herself so eloquently phrased it, want to jump her bones, and Kuma wouldn't be strong enough to fend him off if he tried anything. His fist clenched a little tighter as he thought of this. Kuma felt too much like an annoying sister for him to just sit back and let something bad like that happen to her. Kagome put her hand over his and snapped him out of it. "W-what?" he said. "Because you what, Inuyasha? You started to say something." "Never mind." "Don't start with that again," she said with a slightly annoyed tone. "Just tell me. Why do you follow me." He's going to say because I need you to find the shikon shards and become a full demon and I'm going to have to keep myself from crying because I'm in love with him, the jerk. "BecauseIloveyou," he said quickly and quietly. "What?" there was no way she would make that out, but she was pretty sure that shikon and shard weren't anywhere in it. "Because I'm in love with you, you twit!" he snapped, much more loudly than he should have. Miroku smirked to himself and rolled over, thinking, about damn time. Finding himself face to face with Sango's open eyes, he smiled and put a finger to his lips with a tiny wink, and with an affirming smile, she closed her eyes once again. The most beautiful woman alive, Miroku mused as he stared at Sango's quietly resting features for another few seconds before closing his eyes to sleep as well. Leave the lovebirds alone, he thought as he drifted off to dreamland once again, having pleasant, if perhaps, improper dreams about a certain demon huntress. "You.you love me?" Kagome asked with a tiny gasp as Inuyasha's words sunk in. "Yes, idiot," Inuyasha said grumpily before being rather startled by Kagome's arms wrapping around his neck and her smiling face getting rather close, kissing distance, as he did everything in his power to not. "I love you too," she told him and gave him a tiny peck on the cheek. That was all the encouragement he needed, and a small "eep" escaped her lips as he claimed them with his own, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling away from her only when he needed to breathe. Breathing, he decided, was just one of those bad habits he was going to have to get over. "Let's sleep now," Kagome said. "We'll be better able to help Kuma if we're conscious to do it." Inuyasha nodded in a daze, drifting off with the woman he loved in his arms.  
  
"Do you reeeaaallllyyy have to leave now, Kuma?" Rin asked with a pout. "Yeah. I can hear my friends coming, so I'd better be out of here before they get here or Sesshomaru is going to be in a lot of trouble, Rin." There goes that theory about the jewel being behind her good hearing, Sesshomaru thought. He was a little jealous, actually, he couldn't hear Inuyasha and company at all, and Inuyasha and his woman had a tendency to be quite loud. "Well, this is it," Kuma said as she turned to Sesshomaru, trying to work up the courage to effectively abandon him, even though she didn't really want to. Actually, she sorta wished she could take him and Rin with her.and she supposed Jaken could come too, though the little toad demon was pretty annoying, Sess liked him, so she figured it would be okay. But that would never work out, after all, the dog demon brothers had quite the vendetta against one another. ".good luck. Please.be safe," Sesshomaru said, but Kuma smiled, she knew what he was really thinking was please don't die. She turned and began to leave, but changed her mind abruptly and pulled Sesshomaru down, planting a strong-lipped kiss on him that made his knees buckle as he returned it with equal passion. "W-wwhat.?" he tried to ask afterwards. "One real kiss," she said softly. "I thought we owed it to ourselves, since who knows when, if, we'll ever get another one. Goodbye Sesshomaru." And she ran off, disappearing quickly from view. "Goodbye, my love," he whispered, but he knew.she heard him.  
  
"Hiya guys!" Kuma said with another wide, fake grin as she saw the usual group come into view. "Kuma! You're alright!" Shippo said as he bounded into her. "Sure, I'm fine! Had a run in with a crow demon, but I'm all healed up now," she said. "You were with Sesshomaru. I can smell him on you," Inuyasha snapped. "Well hello to you too Inuyasha. I'm doing fine, thanks for asking," she said sarcastically. "And you're right, he let me stay at his home while I was recuperating. What? Did you think I was going to deny it? With your sense of smell? Besides, I don't see why I should," she said frankly as Kagome handed her the pale blue jacket and she pulled it on before taking her bag and guitar. "You expect me to believe, he just decided to be nice and nurse you back to health. I don't think so," Inuyasha said. "No. Actually, I expect you to believe that since I saved his little girl from that crow demon he felt as if he would be a nice guy and return the favor. Not that you would know anything about nice guys, puppy, but there you have it." "I am NOT a PUPPY!" "Whatever. Oh! Almost forgot, I have something for you Kagome!" Kuma said giddily, stopping her stride and turning around, pulling the black back out from where she had it stuffed down in her shirt between her breasts and pulled out the tiny pink shard, handing it over without so much as a second thought. "It's not in my chest anymore," she said with a grin before heading happily down the road again with Shippo on her shoulder as she sang one of her favorite songs. Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other with all due confusion and then at Kuma's back as she strolled down the road without a care in the world, and then, finally, Sango spoke up. "Am I the only one who's wondering how she got that out of her chest?" she asked. Miroku shook his head back and forth. "Nope," he said as he stood close beside her.too close, and earned a glare that forced both his hands up in the air as if to say, what? I'm perfectly innocent this time, even though they all knew what he was thinking.  
  
"How'd you get the shard out of your chest Kuma?" Shippo asked as they walked ahead of the group. "Huh? Oh, that crow ripped a pretty big hole in me, right here," she said, pointing in the vicinity of her heart, and it pierced through as we were fighting, so I yanked it out," she said nonchalantly. "WAAHH?? You could've died!" Shippo freaked out. "I could've, didn't. Don't worry kit. That's all in the past now. Sesshomaru took really good care of me." "That's just so weird," Shippo said. "Maybe. But he didn't strike me as the type of guy who would stand for being indebted to anyone, so that's probably why. Now that we're even he won't have to feel bad about killing me when he tries to get the tetsusaiga from Inuyasha again." Not exactly a lie, she figured. It was true enough, and they didn't need to know the other part. Shippo seemed to be thinking about this, but nodding slightly, just about ready to buy it, so in order to divert his train of thought, she said, "oh, hey! I never did get around to playing my guitar for you. Would you like to hear it?" "Yeah!" he said excitedly.  
  
Another chapter down, if I keep this up, I may have this whole story up by the time I go to bed.two more chapters to go. Erm.R&R is always appreciated. Hate the way I've got these things formatted at the moment, especially since the thoughts aren't marked clearly, but I guess I'll deal with that. I just don't feel like reading through this again and editing for format at the moment. Sequels and things that I write in the future will probably have thoughts marked off with '&', as opposed to speech which would be "&". Dunno. Well, whatever, I guess. Cheers! Hope your enjoying this fic n' all that. 


	4. Chapter Four: Kagura

Chapter Four: Kagura  
  
The next village was what Kuma called fondly, "an extremely peculiar experience." After singing in the tavern for a few hours, and playing her guitar, she had earned a bit more money, but counted it and found it a slow go, and she didn't like not being able to afford any sort of weapon yet. At this point, she would've been content with a small dagger, at least it would be something. "Working awfully hard to earn so little money, aren't you young lady?" "Huh? Oh, hi. Didn't see you down there," Kuma said as she looked down at a rather short and plump old man who pulled himself up onto the bench beside her at the tavern. Shippo was sitting on the table in front of her thinking, this guy is almost as short as I am. "May I ask what a young woman like you has a need of such funding for?" "I keep running into demons, so I want to buy a sword. Don't have enough yet though," Kuma answered absently as she tucked the pouch back between her breasts, and noticing Miroku's expression, commented, "you enjoy that a little too much I think, monk." Having missed it, but noticing now, Sango hit him.again. With a meaningfully mischievous smirk, she added, "you know Sango, he probably wouldn't be half as horny if you just put out once in a while," and ducked the boomerang that went flying towards her head. "Hey, chill out! It was just a joke. You need a sense of humor," she laughed. Miroku couldn't help but chuckle, although he was silently agreeing on the matter, and the amusement at her expense got him another good whack on the head. "Ow! Hey, I didn't even say it!" he protested. "It doesn't matter," Sango huffed. "You were thinking it!" "You're such a troublemaker," Shippo giggled at Kuma. "Well, I've accomplished all I needed with Inuyasha and Kagome, finally-bet they're off sucking face somewhere as we speak-so, I need a new hobby," Kuma joked happily. "How about finding yourself a man instead of getting me beat up for your jokes," Miroku groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. She frowned at this, briefly, but he caught it. So there is someone. "Not nearly as fun Miroku. Not nearly as fun," she joked, having already forgotten the old man, who now tugged lightly on her sleeve. "Oh, sorry," she said. "I got distracted," she beamed. "I would like to make a sword for you, as a gift," the man said. "Wha..?" "That is to say, of course, for free." "Why?" she asked blatantly, causing the old man to start laughing. When he recovered, he grinned at her. "I haven't made many swords in my lifetime, since I only make swords for people who I like," he said. "I think I'll probably only make one more before I die, and I would like to make it for you, or someone like you." "Let me get this straight. You want to make me a sword, for nothing, just because you happen to like me for some reason?" "Precisely." ".well, I don't get it." He started laughing again, as did the others, who found the confused expression on her face priceless. "Free" didn't seem to be a word used very often in the future world that she and Kagome came from. When the man recovered, Kuma said, "so what's the catch?" "The catch?" "Yeah. You know, you do for me, I do for you. That's the way stuff works. I don't believe you want to just make me a sword out of the blue, so what's the catch, what do you get out of making me a sword." "Well.you'd have to use it to fight evil, of course," he said as if it were obvious. "Fight evil. You mean like crow demons and such?" "Exactly!" Kuma thought about this a moment and said, "well, sure, that's what I want it for anyway. You've got yourself a deal old man."  
  
"Wonderful! I'll meet you here with it three days from now," he said before jumping off the chair and disappearing into the crowd. "Well. That was bizarre," Kuma said. "What was bizarre?" Kagome asked as she and Inuyasha approached, looking downright cuddly with his arm casually wrapped around her back, hand resting on her waist, even if he did look a tad self-conscious about it, Inuyasha also had a glimmer of pride in his eyes at being able to call Kagome his girlfriend. But it was hard to look at him for too long, since, physically at least, he bore a resemblance to his brother. "An old man just decided to make Kuma a sword," Shippo said before she could. "What?" Inuyasha asked, certain he had heard wrong. "Yeah, it was weird, a little guy not much bigger than Shippo," Kuma shrugged. "It was pretty weird, but, who's complaining. Anyway, I'm not holding my breath, but it'd be good if it worked out. I'd feel better being armed. Since I apparently attract crow demons for some reason or other. At least the last one was small," she said. Kuma had thought once the shard was out of her chest she wouldn't have to worry about being attacked by demons anymore, but crow demons still seemed to love her for some reason that she couldn't even begin to fathom. She could manage the small ones bare-handed without too much trouble, but as for the larger ones, the others always ended up saving her from those. And she was resolute in her decision; until she could defend herself and survive without help in this world, she wouldn't think about the promise she made to Sesshomaru. Forever was one thing, but only if you could keep yourself alive to enjoy it. "So how long until this sword of yours is finished?" Inuyasha asked. "Three days. I'll stick around and wait for it, but you guys should go ahead if you've got to." "And leave you to get killed or kidnapped again?" Inuyasha said. "I don't think so. Rescuing you wastes too much time." Okay, that stung. Kuma knew he meant it in the best possible way, but it bothered her enough that she couldn't defend herself without him having to point it out at every opportunity. And he was so oblivious, he didn't even notice. "Well, whatever. All the noise in here is giving me a headache, I'm going to take a walk. Don't worry, Inuyasha, I won't leave the village. I'd hate to hassle you," she said as she got up and left. "What was that about?" Inuyasha asked, sure he'd picked up the tone in her voice, hell, he'd used the tone in her voice. "Idiot. You don't have to remind her that she needs to be protected all the time. Can't you tell how much it bothers her," Shippo said as he debated going after her, and decided against it. She probably wanted to be alone for a little while. When Inuyasha gave Shippo the "like you would know" expression, Sango chimed in. "Shippo's right, Inuyasha. She wouldn't want a sword so badly if she didn't mind being saved all of the time. She's trying very hard to become a part of this world, and the way she sees it, if she can't defend herself against demons without being rescued, then she's failed." "Poor Kuma. In our world, she's very strong, but in this world, it isn't enough. I've never been very strong, so I guess I can't really relate. It must be hard for her," Kagome said, reflecting back on how, in spite of how hard it is, she still won't return to her own time. She easily could, now that the jewel shard isn't inside of her anymore. She didn't have to stay. But it was a choice she had made. "It's not all that's bothering her though," Miroku added. "There's something else, guy problems I think. Not that I have any inkling as to when she had time to meet a guy. I mean, the past few weeks have been nothing but virtually non-stop attacks, and she's been with us the whole time, and before that she was with." the thought suddenly hit him like a rock, an extremely large rock. She was with Sesshomaru. They all thought it at the same time and the way the expressions around the table dropped, it was obvious. Inuyasha was the one to finally say it out loud, "she was with my brother. You think there's something going on with them, monk?" he asked tensely. "No. No way," Miroku said quickly. "I'm sure she has better taste than that. You know me, I'm probably just imagining things." Problem was, Miroku wasn't so sure that he was, and he wasn't so sure that that wasn't exactly what he thought. But what bothered him more than what Kuma might feel towards Inuyasha's full demon brother who wanted their traveling companion quite dead, was what aforementioned demon might be thinking about her. This could be bad, he thought. None of the expressions at the table changed, should've kept my big mouth shut, now they won't be able to keep from wondering. Whether it was true or not, everyone was thinking about it now. After a few minutes, everyone seemed to decide it was ridiculous, except for Inuyasha who kept recalling the scene he witnessed at the lake what now seemed like such a long time ago, and Miroku, who came up with the brilliant idea in the first place. Not possible. It's simply too disturbing, he thought to convince himself. Problem was, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Things could get very complicated in the near future.  
  
Rin crawled up into Sesshomaru's lap as he sat thoughtfully by the window. "Rin, what is it?" he asked. "Rin misses Kuma," she sniffled. "She coming back soon?" "I don't know when she's coming back," Sesshomaru told her, but the girl seemed hopeful that at least she would be coming back, and Sesshomaru could only think, I miss her too Rin. Truth was, not seeing Kuma only made him think about her more, so Sesshomaru sent a sword-smith to forge a weapon for her, one whom he paid in advance, and who was under strict command to not let her know about the bargain, or that there was any third party involved at all. She would never forgive him if she knew. That old man was expensive, after all, and she wouldn't want to feel indebted. Sesshomaru would simply feel better about her safety if she had a weapon to protect herself with. No, Kuma need never know he had anything to do with this. Of course, Sesshomaru hadn't known when he paid for the charge, that the old man already knew who Kuma was, and was looking for just this excuse to forge his last great sword. Willful, stubborn, a bit reckless-that was just the right personality for the sword he'd been planning to forge for the past forty years. And now that the right person had come along (and one that had such a wealthy benefactor), the opportunity simply could not be passed up. And, of course, there was something else in her that the others had missed as yet, but which, he presumed, would make it self apparent in not much time at all. A bit, just a hint, of youkai in her eyes. "You're making a sword for that human girl, m'lord?" a young wolf demon asked as he approached the old man. "I am, Zaru. Does that bother you?" the old man answered as he continued on his work. "No m'lord." Yes, a little, she is human, after all. "It's just.why? You've never forged a sword such as this for a human before." "An experiment, Zaru. I should like to determine if evil tendencies are related to youkai blood. This sword will tap into and awaken the dormant demon in her, and I should like to see how her behavior changes once that demon is awakened." "She's a half.!" Zaru's eyes widened. He hadn't smelt any demon on her at all. "Not quite, no. But the blood is there, and it is strong. Now that that jewel shard isn't blocking it, it will awaken as the moon passes through it's phases, but.why not hurry up the process? I won't live forever, after all, and I want to see what happens when the little cub wakes up." "And Sesshomaru of the west paid you well to forge her a weapon." "Hah! Yes, that too. See that I am not disturbed." "Yes sir."  
  
"Three days though? We should be out looking for shards, not sitting around here for three days," Inuyasha complained. Three days seemed like an awfully long time to him. "Inuyasha," Kagome said as she scooted closer to him where he had her up in a tree with him, what Miroku fondly referred to as their make-out spot when he caught them up there the day before. "Shh," she said as she kissed him again. "Mmm. On second thought, maybe we could all use a break," he whispered huskily. "Good boy," Kagome told him.  
  
"Three days is a really long time," Kuma realized with a sigh as she and her guitar joined her friends for dinner. "I'm not used to sitting still this long anymore." "Relax, you'll get your sword tomorrow," Sango said. She's extremely impatient. "I know. I'm just getting bored is all," Kuma said with a sigh. "Do you even know how to use a sword?" Miroku asked, realizing it was a matter that hadn't come up. Kuma blushed slightly. "Well.how hard can it be?" Of course that would be her answer? he groaned mentally. Why do I bother? And Sango just looks at him with a tiny smirk that seems to say, "stupid question." I think she's warming up to me, he thinks, back on his old familiar train of thought. She hasn't hit me in hours. "I made more money though!" Kuma says, totally breaking the conversation off. "Not a lot, but every little bit helps, right?"  
  
"Well, there's really no point in staying here any longer," Sesshomaru decided after a few days of taking care of business around the castle. To be quite frank, he was bored, so he figured he'd might as well head off after the tetsusaiga again, if perhaps he was somewhat lacking in his old enthusiasm for the task. He just didn't know what else to do to keep himself from going stir crazy. Besides, it was a good excuse to see Kuma again, as pathetic as he realized that that was. Well, I suppose it can't be helped. I'll try to claim the tetsusaiga until I find some other purpose for myself, like she wants. The problem seems to be that he can't imagine himself doing anything else.other than spending his life with Rin and Kuma, of course.and Jaken, who didn't seem to approve of his attachment to Kuma at all. A small smile crosses his face briefly as he thinks about Kuma's first meeting with the little toad demon.and how she tossed him across the room into the far wall. He'd laughed in spite of himself.  
  
Zaru brought the altogether too large sword to the tavern for Kuma. It was wrapped in brown cloth and he had to drag it. How's that girl gonna carry this thing around? "A sword for the Lady Kuma from master sword-smith, Deraku Oudabi," he announced as he put the sword down on the floor, glad to "Lady Kuma?" she giggled. "Well, whatever. Thanks." Zaru gave her a peculiar look and then left quickly. "Odd fellow," she said. "Wolf demon," Inuyasha told her as if that was the perfect explanation. "I'm glad to have a sword and all now, but, isn't this a little.big?" Kuma asked as she picked up the large object, which was almost as tall as she was, and laid it down on the table before untying the knots in the cloth. A black sheath with a shoulder strap holding an almost 4 foot long double- edged blade attached to a two foot hilt. "What does he think I am, a giant?" she asked as she laughed at the bizarre proportions. She shrugged and slung the weapon over her head and shoulder. "Well, a little heavy, but not too bad. I can get used to it if I practice." Inuyasha grabbed the note off of the table, looking rather suspicious of the weapon, and Kuma almost dove after him, fuming. "Why you! That's addressed to me you asshole!" After scanning the note quickly, he crumpled it and threw it at her. "The sword's name is Kagura." Kuma scowled, picked up the note and read it, and sure enough that's exactly what it said, "the sword's name is Kagura." Okay, so it also said, "take care of it." "Not one for long, drawn-out explanations, is he?" Kuma said with a shrug, tossing the note over her shoulder, where it landed in Miroku's rice bowl. He picked it up, shook it off and tossed it at the back of her head. "Huh? Hey!" "Watch where you throw things," he frowned. "Oh! Haha! Sorry Miroku!" she laughed. "So is everybody ready to go?"  
  
"Damnit! Where'd she disappear to now!" Inuyasha growled before Kuma came running up behind him, slapping him on the back of the head and saying, "I got it! Defeated the big bad all by myself! And I come bearing gifts!" she giggled as she tossed the little pink shard at Kagome. I'm glad she's figuring out that sword and can take care of herself, but she's making me look bad. I would've gotten him easily, but.she's just too fast, and she's getting faster. I wonder if I should have mentioned that that guy who made her sword is a demon. Bah! Never mind. "Fine. We've got it, let's stop wasting time and keep going then," Inuyasha said. They started walking. "Hey, Kuma, doesn't having such a big sword bother your arm?" Shippo asked as he hopped up onto her shoulder. "Not really. It hasn't been bothering me as much lately. I guess it's getting stronger. I mean, it hurts a little, but not as bad as it used to," Kuma answered. And the scar has been fading away too, she thought. It didn't make much sense to her. Was it something about this time, or something else entirely. She'd been feeling strange the past few weeks, not sick exactly, just.different. She could swear her hair was getting lighter, and she was starting to see better in the dark. Not to mention her other senses seemed to be improving somewhat as well. It worried her, but she didn't say anything. It's probably nothing, she told herself. Problem was, she wasn't so sure.  
  
Okay, so I know, technically, I should rename the sword, since Kagura is the name of a character in the series, but well, I wrote this fic before I knew that, so I'm just going to leave it as is. No big thing, really. Aaannnyways! One more chap and this fic is over! But unlike "Not that he Cared" and "Meanwhile, in another part of the forest" this fic has a companion fic already that will come up soon and a few mini-sequel like things that are done/in the works. Um.well, they're.really short.and I'm not sure whether to let each stand on it's own or.chapter em up or.well anyway, I'll think of something! Hehe. 


	5. Chapter Five: Cougar

Well, boys and girls, here we are, the final chapter of "Falling Over You". Okay, so there will be future fics related to this one, but, for all intents and purposes..last chappy.  
  
Hope you've enjoyed the ride. ~Banshee Puppet  
  
Chapter Five: Cougar  
  
"Play another song!" Shippo cheered as he did every night, though tonight, Kuma was really feeling very strange and hadn't really felt much like playing at all. "Just one more," she said as she thought about it, noting that her mouth felt weird as she ran her tongue along her teeth and her eyes widened. I- is that a, a fang? "An instrumental song," she said softly, head bowed slightly. "My throat hurts a bit from all this singing." Inuyasha wasn't buying it. Something had been strange about her all day and he could almost swear she smelled different. That's ridiculous, he had told himself. People's scents don't just change. Well, okay, mine does, but only when I'm human once a month. When Kagome had mentioned a few days ago that her friend's hair seemed lighter, Kuma had just said with an uncomfortable laugh, "the dye must be wearing off," but Kagome would know if her friend dyed her hair, wouldn't she? But when she went to pluck the strings and begin the song, a small gasp escaped her lips, her nails were.n-no way! Not possible. W-what's happening to me. One bad pluck and she stood abruptly, her hands clenched so that no one else would see. "Gomen Shippo. A-ano, I have a cramp, I need to go walk it off. I'll play for you tomorrow again," she said before leaving the group quickly, making eye contact with none. "She said she wasn't feeling well earlier," Kagome said, but she looked worried. "Shippo, come here a minute," Inuyasha said. "No way, you're gonna hit me or something and I didn't do anything wrong." "I'm not gonna hit you! Just get over here," Inuyasha growled. Shippo is the only other demon here. Maybe he's noticed if she seems.different. "W-what?" Inuyasha bent over and whispered in the kit's ear. "Her smell?" Shippo asked, looking confused. Inuyasha pulled the boy off a bit and then said. "That's right, her smell, does she smell any different to you lately? Over the past few days especially." Shippo thought a moment. She did smell a bit different actually, but he hadn't thought of it. "I just figured she was using different soap," he said. "I'm going after her; I'll be back soon," Inuyasha said as if to tell Shippo that he was an idiot. "Inuyasha! Different how?!" Shippo protested. I don't know. I'm not sure. he thought. "More." He tried to place the scent but was having a hard time of it, and then an image of Kilala came to mind. That's it! "More like a cat," he said before hurrying off into the trees.  
  
Not knowing what else to do, she ran. The pain building in her stomach was almost too much to bear. What's happening to me?!? Her heart rate increased, she was sweating, everything around her smelled like.prey. Unable to run through the pain anymore, knowing very distinctly that there were four fangs in her mouth and her finger-nails had turned into claws. The sneakers that bound her feet inside of them were causing her pain around the toes as well, which she figured could only mean that she probably had claws on her feet too, and holding them flat the way they were wasn't helping. Is this how an animal feels? Life on this sort of instinct? No. What's happening to me? She couldn't hold it back anymore, and falling to her knees, cried out in pain.  
  
At the sound of a very distinctly feline cry, followed by a series of smaller whimpers, Inuyasha stopped. He'd been following what he had known to be Kuma's scent, and now this. He had a very bad feeling, but saw the pale jacket in the clearing on a form that looked, from behind, very little like the girl they had all gotten to know. Hunched over on her hands and knees breathing heavily, this figure had long hair of a slate blond and something moved on her back underneath the jacket. But it was her. He was certain. He could still smell Kuma, underneath the youkai he smelled on her now. "Kuma?" he asked as he approached slowly. She stared at the claws on her hands, felt the tail swooshing around behind her, "go away!" "What?" "I'm serious Inuyasha! Get the hell away from me!" she hollered, forcing herself to her feet and angrily wiping tears from her eyes. As she moved, he could see the claws on her hands, the way she whimpered trying to stand in the flat sneakers that she and Kagome often wore. "I don't want anyone to see me like this," she sobbed. Sure, Inuyasha understood. How could he not understand? He could still smell the human on her. She fell down again. The sneakers were too much for her to take, but he could see her hands shaking, she couldn't get them off, didn't know what to do about the claws. And he could see the green- gold reflection of her eyes, the spotted tail swooshing at the jacket behind her. He thought about her as he'd known her as a human. Thin, fast, graceful, lean-muscled. Not all too different from the cougar youkai he saw before him now. As different as she was, he knew, she was still Kuma, even with the furry, slightly rounded ears on top of her head, she would always be Kagome's friend Kuma. "Let me help you," he said as he moved to her slowly, not sure if she was going to try to kill him or what, and kneeled down to untie and remove the sneakers. She didn't try to kill him. She just moved each foot around once it was released from the bindings. "I can't go back there, looking like this," she said. "Looking like what?" he asked, somewhat unconvincingly. "You're just Kuma." "Yeah right. Nice try, jerk. I have claws, and fangs, and a goddamn tail!" "You forgot about the ears," he mentioned, then thought, I should probably shut up now. "Ears! What about my ears?!" She put her hands where her human hears would be and, looking at Inuyasha's dog ears, slowly worked her way up until she felt them up there and started crying. "God! I'm a freak.uh, no offence." Gee, thanks. "None taken," he said, trying to comfort her as best he could, which wasn't actually very well, but.he knew what it was like. "There are people who are going to think just that about you, I'm not going to lie about it. It isn't easy. But me and Kagome and the others, we're not in that group. Please come back to camp." "Inuyasha, thank you but.I.I can't. Not yet. Tell everyone that I'm sorry, I just.." she started sniffling again and wiped her eyes. "Gomen." "You don't have to apologize for everything all the time, you know, Kuma," Inuyasha said as he stood up, offering her a hand, even though he knew she wouldn't take it, and, true to form, she didn't, opting to get to her feet on her own, resting more towards the ball than she used to. "Ah, gomen. I mean. I." Inuyasha laughed. "Come back to us soon," he said before turning to head back to camp. "Why are you being so nice. It isn't like you," she asked. "The fact that Kagome is my girlfriend is all your fault, so I owe you, a little. Besides, I know what it's like to be a freak." He was about to leave when he thought of something else. "I've been meaning to ask. You're in love with my brother, aren't you, Kuma?" The warm fuzzy moment officially gone, Kuma threw a small rock at the back of Inuyasha's head. "Goodnight, Inuyasha, you jerk!" she said. "Ow! Bitch! It was a simple question!" "And the simple answer is. Even if it were true, what would it matter? Now." When Inuyasha turned to say something once again, she was gone, and he didn't think he would be justified in following her, so he went back to camp.  
  
"Where's Kuma?" Miroku asked with a yawn. They'd been waiting up to see if she was alright, he realized. "She's gone off on her own for a while," he said. "Huh? Why would she leave?" Sango asked. "As it turns out, Kagome, your friend is part demon. She'll be back, eventually," Inuyasha said. "Let's just go to sleep now." "First, explain part demon," Kagome said. "I'm not letting you off so easily Inuyasha." "She's.like me." That earned a few considerably surprised looks. "I don't think she has as much youkai blood as I do, but it's there, and something's triggered it. She.doesn't look the way she used to." "How does she look?" Shippo asked sleepily, just barely following the conversation. "Well.she's still Kuma, but with lighter, longer hair, and claws, a few fangs, a tail and," he flicked one of his dog ears, "ears." "What sort of ears?" Shippo asked, not disturbed as the others appeared at the sudden change as much as curious. "Cat ears?" Inuyasha nodded. "Cougar ears." "She's a cougar demon!?!" Miroku sputtered. "Just all of a sudden, out of nowhere like that?" "Seems that way." "Well.at least she's on our side. But I don't feel right about letting her wander around all by herself out there." "She makes her own decisions. She'll come back when she's ready." "I suppose you're right. We'd never catch up with her if we tried anyway." "Fine. That's settled, can we all go to sleep now please?" Inuyasha said testily. "Alright, see everyone in the morning," Miroku said and rolled over to find that a rather exhausted Sango and Shippo had already fallen asleep. Kagome put her arms around Inuyasha's neck, and he leapt up into a comfortable tree branch, cuddled her up into his arms, rested his chin on top of her head and went to sleep himself.  
  
"Kuma!!!" Rin called out excitedly when she saw the girl, not seeming at all phased by the fact that she looked rather like a cat youkai now, and tossing herself happily into the young woman's legs. "Rin?" Kuma asked, a bit confused. I guess I don't look as different as I thought. She had kept to herself for weeks now, just trying to get accustomed to her new senses and new ways of motion, and she had to admit, this being a freak thing wasn't so bad. But now another thought strikes her. If Rin is here then Sesshomaru. "Rin!" Oh, I'd know that voice anywhere, Kuma thought. "Kuma!" he shrieked as he saw the girl, looking rather not-quite-human, and took a leap back, remembering that she could do a lot more damage to him this way, and noting the sheer size of her sword, which she's also gotten rather accustomed to with her new youkai strength. "Hello Jaken," she answered coolly.  
  
Having waited long enough for Jaken to retrieve Rin, Sesshomaru finished washing guts off of his hands and went to find the pair himself. Needless to say, he was rather surprised at what he found. "K-Kuma?!?" "Yeah, um. Hi." He tried to find a way to ask when, why, how, and weren't you with my brother and his friends looking for Shikon shards.but all that he seems to manage is, "Hi." Pause. Long Pause. "You look good." She gave him a typical, it's been a long day, don't test me look, but he insisted. "No, I mean it. I don't understand it but.you look amazing." "What are you doing here, Sesshomaru? I thought you'd be off after the tetsusaiga by now." "Well, I intended to be, but things got somewhat complicated." Seemingly finished with clutching onto Kuma, Rin pulls on Sesshomaru's pant leg and holds up her arms, at which, he picks up the little girl showing perhaps more affection than Kuma (or anyone) was familiar with seeing out of him "You beat up the bad demon?" the girl asked and Kuma couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, look at Jaken and mouth, "he did what?" Jaken nodded and sighed, at right about the time that a group of extremely grateful villagers approached the great demon of the west, offering him many thanks and other such nonsense. "It's like an episode of the twilight zone," Kuma said softly, feeling rather more confused by the moment. "I'll explain, please, Kuma, join us for dinner." "Um, sure, I guess." As they ate, Sesshomaru explained to Kuma that he had left his home to seek out the tetsusaiga, primarily because she wanted him to and because, to be quite frank, sitting at home and dealing with affairs at the castle that could easily be taken care of by people other than himself, was rather boring. He headed south, but ran into some bandits that were heading north and made quick work of them because, well, it was something to do. Having heard about a demon which was causing a certain village quite a bit of trouble, and not being dead set on going after the tetsusaiga at that particular moment, he decided to investigate, since it honestly sounded more interesting than going to hassle his brother.again, for a sword that he'd decided, he didn't absolutely need. Having taken care of that one, he heard of another, then another, and had, for the past three weeks, been wandering around the western lands killing trouble-making demons. "Strange to say, but I believe my brother may have the right idea after all. Each demon is something new to fight, it keeps me rather busy and away from the castle. Not that any of them are much of a challenge, but, at least I'm not bored." Kuma laughed. "Who are you and what have you done with Sesshomaru?" she teased. "I'm quite serious Kuma. Something it wouldn't kill you to be on occasion." "Gomen," she giggled. "Oh wait, no, I'm not sorry. I like the new you though, really."  
  
When Inuyasha and company started arriving in villages only to find stories that his older brother was going around slaying demons and saving the lives of mere mortals, needless to say they were all a little confused. And it kept happening. "You're Inuyasha aren't you!" one villager said. "You're brother Sesshomaru." "Let me guess, he slew an evil demon, didn't ask for any compensation, and saved your village from impending disaster," Inuyasha asked huffily. It was bad enough living down his reputation, now I have to live up to it? "I was actually just going to say he's by the river. But yeah, all that too." Wanting very much to know what the hell was going on, Inuyasha and his friends ran towards the river only to interrupt what appeared to be a rather private moment of, well, sucking face and giggling. What? No way! My brother doesn't laugh! Inuyasha was almost furious over that simple fact. He coughed to get their attention, and realizing that Kuma was the other party, looked at her and said, "what did you do to my brother?" "Hey! Don't blame me! The demon slaying and village saving was his idea!" Kuma protested, at which Sesshomaru commented, "true, but making out by the river was you." With a smile, Kuma shrugged and said, "okay, busted. So what's up guys?"  
  
"Alright," Inuyasha said taking intimidating steps towards his brother that didn't seem to intimidate him at all (big surprise). "You're going around fighting demons, saving villages, doing it all for a low low price of nothing (I've been hanging around Kagome too much, anyways...), and you haven't tried to steal the tetsusaiga for over three months. What's the deal?!?" "Oh. I don't want the tetsusaiga anymore," Sesshomaru said frankly. "Who are you and what have you done with my annoying, arrogant older brother?!?" "I'm glad that you think so highly of me, Inuyasha." "Never mind that, what about the other stuff? Saving people, fighting demons and all that," Inuyasha queried. Still in his blatantly matter-of-fact tone, Sesshomaru answered. "Well." Pause. "It amuses me." Inuyasha fell face first into the dirt without any aid from Kagome's "sit" powers. He recovered(eventually) and the rest is, as they say, history.  
  
~The End~ 


End file.
